In Praise of Pre de Provence

[Spatterdash]

Well, I certainly haven't been here in forever, but I felt I had to post on a couple of things, one of which is my well-earned respect for under-sung Pre de Provence shaving soap.

After an initial sampling from dear Mama Bear years ago, I decided it was time to get a milled soap, probably tallow, but every review on Pre De Provence was positive, so I tried it. It has been my go-to soap ever since. The cushion and slickness have been compared to the best tallow soaps. I personally think it stands equal to Martin De Candre. Like Martin's, it's a veg soap. It's loaded with shea butter, and the lather is legendary among long-time shavers. The puck is quad-milled, comes in a nice aluminum tin and lasts for months without denting the wallet.

Often the best of the best are discussed, and time and again you see the same - Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF), Tabac, Spieck, Proraso, Taylor of Old Bond Street (TOBS), Van Der Hagen, and even ol' Williams. These are dependable, enjoyable, reliable, a real pleasure to use.

Pre De Provence is their peer.

I believe Pre De Provence deserves a permanent place on that list, no matter the scent you prefer. I've been using it going on 6 years, and I still look forward to loading a brush with it.

 

[MrMoJoe]

I agree. I especially like PdP No. 63. The difference in overall performance and quality between it and any other top-tier soap is almost indescernable to me.

 

[MtView]

Is original PdP still available? I can only find PdP No. 63.

 

[HouseOfChains]

PdP is some good stuff! I find it's water window is small and it's cushion could be better better these are small compliants as this is a good enough soap to use every day.
I don't own a puck of their shave soap but I've had a sample that's lasted me 7 shaves and it's barely made a dent. The quad mill is the real deal.
I actually did a video on it today oddly enough!

If posting a link is against the rules please let me know.

Sent from my SM-N970W using Tapatalk

 

[nav]

Welcome back to the forum. I remember you from years ago.

PdP is one of my all time favorites!!

I have both the scents and they are both amazing!
The original is herbaceous and the 63 is rich, masculine and the best part is that I actually get the coffee note in the mix so I absolutely love this scent!!

 

[Atlantic59]

Is original PdP still available? I can only find PdP No. 63.

The original PdP is now being packaged as "Bergamot & Thyme". I always thought it was more of a Clary Sage scent, but there you go.

Pretty soon, there will be someone along to wave a Simpson Chubby at us and let us know this a third-tier soap and a pathetic "C+" on their rating scale.

 

[sugardaddy]

I have done a good many shaves with No 63. IMO, any tallow soap worth its salt, and some vegan ones, will beat it in creaminess and ability to hold water well.

However, it is a good enjoyable lather.

And it excels at..

1. Cost. I'm sure the one puck will last me a year of bowl lathering shaves.
2. Scent. That 63 is amazing.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

 

[fast shaver]

PdP is in my rotation & it gets the job done.!

 

[JB1963]

Love the scent...find performance very average

 

[Spatterdash]

What's this? No slavish chorus of complete and unqualified agreement?

This lack of sycophants dampens an otherwise promising Friday evening!

More to the point, the lack of 'ability to hold water well' and 'very average performance' do surprise me, but then a number of factors may favor me, specifically water (mine is especially hard) and perhaps razor contact (mine is a Merkur HD, rather mild).

I appreciate the observations, especially since even those criticisms are couched in admiration for the soap.

As for the classic scent now being refered to as Bergamot and Thyme, I wasn't sure. Glad that was cleared up. For a long time, the original scent struck a lot of shavers as sage, or at least having a distinct sage note, but I can see thyme and bergamot giving a vaguely similar profile.

 

[JeffJ]

3017’d a full puck of the original last year. Another original puck plus A 63 in back stock. Great scent. Good performance. Amazing value.

 

[Atlantic59]

A lot of problems people have with PdP lather can be fixed by loading more heavily; this is a very hard soap.

Most soft soaps might last 50 or 60 shaves per container. PdP can last 250+ shaves without much trouble. A very wet boar brush loaded about twice as long as normal works pretty well.

 

[Spatterdash]

Atlantic, true. It's dense. You can scrub the surface a dozen times before that raised logo on the face of the puck disappears. That is one of the things I love about it.

 

[MHBru]

I can't speak to their shave soap but their bath soap beats everything I've tried by a long shot. Their milk soap is always in my shower... great scent, lather, clean rinse, and non drying. Love the stuff!

 

[camoloc]

What's this? No slavish chorus of complete and unqualified agreement?

This lack of sycophants dampens an otherwise promising Friday evening!

More to the point, the lack of 'ability to hold water well' and 'very average performance' do surprise me, but then a number of factors may favor me, specifically water (mine is especially hard) and perhaps razor contact (mine is a Merkur HD, rather mild).

I appreciate the observations, especially since even those criticisms are couched in admiration for the soap.

As for the classic scent now being refered to as Bergamot and Thyme, I wasn't sure. Glad that was cleared up. For a long time, the original scent struck a lot of shavers as sage, or at least having a distinct sage note, but I can see thyme and bergamot giving a vaguely similar profile.

I love this soap. have the original and #63.

maybe its my hard water but seems to tolerate a high amount of water added. I load it for a long time due to quad milled.

love the simple scent. I dont get thyme from it?????? I always have thought of it as Sage, Light Citrus in the background, and a simple "soap" scent.

either way its a good one!!!!

camo

 

[Hannah's Dad]

PdP is a soap I’ve not had the opportunity to try, but it enjoys a great reputation for sure.

 

[Brompton]

I'm a big fan. I probably have more PdP in the den than anything else. Started a puck in February and I still have a long way to go.

 

[Calm_Shaver]

I’m a huge fan of PdP No.63 soap. The scent and the performance is as good as any of the artisan tallow soaps out there. I never tried the original PdP soap but have their original PdP balm and it is one of my favorites balms.

 

[chinmusic82]

It’s a great soap. I 3017’ed a puck a few years ago. Took me 4 months IIRC. I loved the scent too.

 

[Steve56]

The original is now called ‘Thyme and Bergamot’ I believe. New graphics and tin, same soap and scent. The tin is a little bit larger, so the soap will drop out of it where the old tin fit more snugly.